Prior to running for Congress, Burr worked for 17 years as a sales manager for Carswell Distributing Company, a distributor of lawn equipment.[1] Burr is currently a board member of
Brenner Children's Hospital, as well as of the group Idealliance—a group of local, academic, and government officials working to expand North Carolina's Piedmont Triad Research Park.[6] Burr is also a board member of the West Point Board of Visitors.[7]

Burr has been married to Brooke Fauth Burr, a real estate agent, since 1984, and the couple have two sons, Tyler and William.[3]

Burr's father, a minister, said that Burr is a 12th cousin of
Aaron Burr, the former
Vice President, Senator, lawyer, and Continental Army officer known most for killing Founding Father
Alexander Hamilton in an
1804 duel and for being arrested, indicted, and ultimately acquitted for treason. Richard Burr is the first Burr in the Senate since Aaron Burr served as the Senator from New York—and only the second person with his last name to win election to Congress (the first being the presumably unrelated
Albert G. Burr)—since Aaron.[8][9] Sen. Burr himself has stated that there are no longer any direct descendants of Aaron Burr, and that he descends from Aaron's brother. However, it is more likely that Senator Burr is descended from the brother of Aaron's father as biographies of Aaron Burr state that he had only an older sister, that his parents died young and they were raised by his father's brother.[10]

When queried, Burr states that he has tempered pride of the association: "I am [proud] ... though history has proved to shine a different light on him."[11] Burr was inspired to enter politics in response to anger at rising taxes in the early 1990s.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1992, Burr ran against incumbent Democratic Representative
Stephen L. Neal and lost. He ran again in
1994 after Neal chose not to seek re-election, and was elected to Congress during a landslide year for Republicans. He ran on a platform that advocated accountability for the federal government, lower health care costs, economic development, and strong school systems.[12]

While in the House, Burr authored the FDA Modernization Act of 1997.[13] He also helped to create the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. In the aftermath of the
9/11 attacks, he successfully sponsored amendments to improve defenses against
bioterrorism.[13]

As a representative, Burr co-sponsored, with
Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) an amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2003 relaxing restrictions on the exports of specific types of
enriched uranium, first enacted in the Schumer Amendment to the
Energy Policy Act of 1992. The original Schumer amendment placed increased controls on U.S. civilian exports of weapons grade highly enriched uranium (HEU) to encourage foreign users to switch to reactor grade low-enriched uranium (LEU) for isotope production. HEU is attractive to terrorists because it can be used to create a simple nuclear weapon, while LEU cannot be used directly to make nuclear weapons. The amendment allowed exports to five countries for creating medical isotopes.[14][15]

Burr did not face a serious challenge in any of his re-election campaigns.[13]

2010

Burr defeated North Carolina Secretary of State
Elaine Marshall (D) on November 2, 2010, with 55% of the vote. He is the first Republican since Jesse Helms to be re-elected to the United States Senate from North Carolina. He also broke the "curse" that his seat held, being the first Senator re-elected to the seat since 1968 (when
Sam Ervin won his final term).

2016

Burr defeated Democratic nominee
Deborah K. Ross in the November 2016 general election by a margin of 51–45.[17] Burr was a supporter of and campaign advisor for the presidential election bid of
Donald Trump.[18]

2022

On July 20, 2016, during his re-election campaign, Burr announced that, should he win that year's election, which he eventually did, he would not seek re-election to a fourth term in 2022.[19]

Tenure

In 2007, Burr ran for the leadership post of
Republican Conference chairman[20] but lost to Sen.
Lamar Alexander by a vote of 31 to 16.[21] In 2009, he was chosen to serve as Chief Deputy Whip in the 111th Congress.[22] In 2007, Burr was named a deputy whip.[13] In 2011, he announced his intention to seek the post of
minority whip, the number two Republican position in the Senate,[23] but he dropped out of that race in 2012.[24]

Caucus membership

Political positions

Campaign finance

Burr opposes the
DISCLOSE act, which would require political ads include information about who funded the ad. Burr supports the decision on Citizens United by the
U.S. Supreme Court, which allowed unions and corporations to spend an unlimited amount of money leading up to political elections.[27]

Economic issues

Burr believes the government should have less control over the banking industry, and was critical after the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Wells Fargo $185 million and required they pay back their customers after the bank was caught opening millions of cost-inducing personal accounts and credit cards without customer's knowledge. In response to what Burr has said is a federal overreach, he heavily campaigned against and then voted against the
Dodd-Frank financial reform bill.[28]

In fall 2008, during that year's financial crisis, Burr said he was going to an ATM every day and taking out cash because he thought the financial system was going to soon collapse.[29][30] In April 2009, in response to press about his experience, Burr told NC public radio station
WFAE that he would do the same thing again next time.[31]

Burr is a signatory of the "
Taxpayer Protection Pledge", which indicates he is opposed to tax increases for any reason.[32] He is opposed to raising taxes on businesses or high-income people to fund public services.[27]

In February 2009, he added an amendment to the proposed economic stimulus package that would end the automatic pay increases of Congress, though he has voted to increase his pay seven times including most recently in 2015 when he voted against H.R. 2029 (which prohibited cost of living adjustments in 2016 for members of congress). In his official statement, he said there were some aspects of the bill he supported, but only listed as examples the reauthorization of the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, defense bills, and intelligence related bills.[33][34][35][36]

In 2013, Burr criticized some of his Republican colleagues in the Senate, who were filibustering the passage of the fiscal year 2014 federal budget in an effort to defund the Affordable Care Act. In a tweet, he called their strategy "the height of hypocrisy".[37]

Environmental issues

Burr was one of 20 senators who voted against the
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.[39] Supporters of this measure stated that its provisions enjoyed bipartisan backing in Congress and strong local support in the areas affected,[40] and would protect millions of acres of wild land.[41][42] Opponents said that it was laden with expensive earmarks,[43] that it precluded oil and gas production on large tracts of federal land,[44] and that its provisions would harm rural economies.[45] Burr supports the 1965
Land and Water Conservation Fund, which gives states funds from oil and gas leases to help them buy back natural areas and water resources for the purpose of cultural heritage and recreational opportunities.[46]

Climate change

Burr believes
global warming is real, but does not believe it's caused by human activity.[27]

In 2013, he voted against legislation that would create a federal
tax or fee on carbon emissions.[50]

Burr voted in favor of the
Keystone XL pipeline.[51] In a series of roll call votes attached to debate about the Keystone XL pipeline on January 21, 2015, he voted against Amendments 58 and 87, which were written to "express the sense of Congress regarding climate change."[52][53] A vote for the amendment was to declare that climate change is real, human-caused, creating problems, and that the US must shift from fossil fuels to sustainable energy.[54]

Burr indicated in 2015 that he believes climate change is not a hoax, but he does not believe
global climate change is caused by human activity. He clarified again in 2016 he doesn't think human have caused climate change, and opposes efforts by the government to restrict the release of greenhouse gases.[27]

In 2016, he stated he does not agree with federal grants or subsidies that encourage the productions of renewable energy.[27]

Education

On Feb 6, Burr voted to confirm
Betsy DeVos as
U.S. education secretary; DeVos won the Senate's confirmation, 51-50, with vice president
Mike Pence as the deciding vote.[55] Her family donated $43,200 to Burr's re-election campaign against Democrat Deborah Ross.[56] Burr typically votes no towards any increased funding for federal education projects,[57] for example in 2016, he stated he is against increasing student financial aid like Pell Grants and opposes any new subsidies that would help students refinance their loans.[27] He supports the goals of charter schools and has voted yes to allowing school prayer.[57]

He voted against the 2013 legislation which would have extended background checks to internet and gun show weapons purchases.[61][62] He sponsored legislation to stop the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from adding the names of veterans to the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) if the department has assigned a financial fiduciary to take care of their finances due to mental incompetence, unless a judge or magistrate deems them to be a danger. Persons added to the NICS system are barred from purchasing or owning a firearm in the United States.[63] Burr voted against
Senator Diane Feinstein'sNo Fly No Buy bill,[64] but said he is open to legislation blocking gun sales to terrorists if due process is observed.[65] Speaking privately on the topic of guns to a group of
GOP volunteers in
Mooresville, North Carolina, Burr joked that a magazine cover of Hillary Clinton ought to have had a bullseye on it.[66] Burr quickly apologized for the comment.[67]

In 2014, Burr sponsored the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act along with Senator
Orrin Hatch. The bill is intended to provide an alternative health care reform system to the Affordable Care Act, according to Ripon Advance. The bill would repeal the Affordable Care Act and implement provisions related to consumer protections, pre-existing conditions, and "consumer-directed healthcare measures."[70]

Burr opposes the regulation of the
tobacco industry by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[71] During the 108th Congress, Burr proposed the National Uniformity for Food Act, which would have banned states from forcing manufacturers to include labels other than those that are required by the
Food and Drug Administration on consumables and health and beauty products.[72] A similar bill passed the House, but it died in the Senate.

Abortion

Burr has voted to oppose late-term abortion and to support parental notification laws and efforts to restrict federal funding of
Planned Parenthood.[73] He voted yes to define a pregnancy as carrying an "unborn child" from the moment of conception.[74] He voted to prevent minors who have crossed state lines from getting an abortion, as well as ensure parents are notified if their child does get an abortion.[75][76] He voted to extend the federal prohibition on tax dollars being used for abortions by preventing the
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services from giving grants to any organization that performs abortions at any of their locations.[77]

Medical marijuana

In 2010, he stated that "medical marijuana has no real intrinsic values that you can't get through other things." Burr in 2016 said he opposes both
medical marijuana and any recreational use of
cannabis. He stated that there should be greater enforcement of current anti-cannabis federal laws in all states, even when cannabis is legal according to that state's laws.[27][78]

Social Security and Medicare

In 2012, Burr co-sponsored a plan to overhaul Medicare; his bill would have raised the eligibility age from 65 to 67 over time and added more private insurance options.[79][80] The proposal would have begun "a transition to a system dominated by private insurance plans."[81] In 2016, he said he supports the privatization of
Social Security.[27]

Judiciary

Senator Burr opposed holding hearings about
U.S. Supreme Court nomineeMerrick Garland. He blocked the nomination of
Patricia Timmons-Goodson to fill a vacancy on the federal court bench in Eastern North Carolina which has been vacant for more than eleven years.[82][83] He has expressed pride at creating the longest federal court bench vacancy in US history by blocking the appointment of a judge nominated by Obama.[66] Burr said that if
Hillary Clinton were elected president, he would try to block her from ever filling the Supreme Court vacancy,[66] saying that if she won, "I am going to do everything I can do to make sure four years from now, we still got an opening on the Supreme Court."[66][84]

LGBT & gender

On December 18, 2010, Burr voted in favor of the
Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, the only Southern Republican senator to do so.[85][86][87][88][89][90] The repeal would go on to end the core aspect of official Department of Defense employment discrimination against openly gay individuals. Burr and
John Ensign were the only Senators who voted against cloture but voted in support of the final passage.[91] Senator Susan Collins (R) of Maine who spearheaded the fractional Republican party support for the repeal expressed grateful surprise at Burr's joining her group in the final vote: "I think that was a gutsy vote" said Collins, "he was not someone who I thought to lobby." Burr strongly expressed his opposition to the timing of the vote, reasoning he said that the chaos of double wars warranted delay, but decided it was right to support the bill when the Senate decided to stop waiting.[92]

On same-sex marriage, Burr's personal belief is that marriage is between a man and a woman; however, he believes that the law should be left to the states.[93] Burr thinks that bathroom access should be regulated by sex listed on birth certificates, but has also sought to distance himself from
HB2, the North Carolina bathroom legislation.[38][94][95]

Burr voted against earmarking money to reduce teen pregnancy (via a requirement that health insurers have equitable birth control coverage, increased funding for family planning services, and funding for education programs that teaches vulnerable teens about contraceptives).[97] He has stated he supports giving employers the right to restrict access to birth control coverage of employees if it is for moral reasons.[27]

Some provisions of the
Patriot Act, including those enabling the bulk collection of metadata for private telephone records by the
National Security Agency, were scheduled to expire at the end of May 2015. As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Burr proposed extending the provisions for two years, but his amendments were defeated. After the provisions expired, the Senate passed the
USA Freedom Act which instead allowed the NSA to subpoena the data from telephone companies.[100][101]

Burr voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (H.J.Res. 114), making him a supporter of the Iraq War.[102]

Burr supported President Bush's troop surge in Iraq in January 2007, citing the "need for security and stability".[13]

In April 2016, following the
FBI–Apple encryption dispute in the same year, a discussion draft of a bill sponsored by Burr and Senator
Dianne Feinstein was leaked. The bill would require technology companies to design their encryption so that they can provide law enforcement with user data in an "intelligible format" when required to do so by court order.[103][104][105][106]

President Trump

Burr was a national security adviser to the
Donald Trump campaign.[25] Burr stated that Trump "aligns perfectly" with the Republican Party. When asked on the campaign trail about Trump's offensive remarks regarding women, Burr said Trump should be forgiven for a few mistakes and given time to change.[66]

As of December 29, 2017[update], Burr has voted with Trump about 96% of the time, and has only voted against Trump regarding putting sanctions on Russia, North Korea and Iran.[66]

Worker rights

In March 2015, Burr voted for an amendment to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow employees to earn paid sick time.[108] Burr opposes raising the federal minimum wage, and believes that decision should be made by the states.[38]

Personal life

Burr's iconic 1973 VW Thing, front

Rear, showing campaign bumper stickers of fellow Republicans

Burr's car, a 1973
Volkswagen Thing, is "something of a local celebrity" on Capitol Hill.[109] Burr has a known aversion to reporters, once even climbing out of his office window while carrying his dry cleaning to avoid them.[25] Burr is a member of the
United Methodist Church.[110]